Do You Like Me?
by Cronomon
Summary: Who could've guessed that all of it started because of one Ryuugu Komachi concert? MamixYayoi, MikixIori, AzusaxChihayaxHaruka. AU, yuri.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The iDOLMASTER.**

**Haha, I totally shouldn't be posting this when I have another ongoing story happening. But it's all part of the challenge! Two romance chapter stories, one about straight pairings and the other with yuri! Let's see which one's more popular, huh?**

**I don't wanna keep you from reading, so please enjoy!**

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_"And now, without further ado, please welcome the popular idol unit, Ryuugu Komachi!"_

The unseen audience roared as the three girls appeared. The talk show host didn't waste a single second, launching right off with a quick background of the group and then going on to ask them questions about their upcoming concert.

"Ryuugu Komachi...?" Yayoi blinked. This was the first she'd heard of them coming to her city for a concert. She checked the clock and, figuring she had enough time before work to listen to a little more of the interview, turned up the volume on her small radio.

_"Tell us, tell us, are there going to be any new songs you'll be performing tonight?"_

The leader of the group, Iori Minase, giggled and replied teasingly, _"That's a secret. If you want to know you'll just have to come watch!"_

_"Well, of course! I ordered the tickets as soon as they were available!"_

Everyone laughed as though that had been a hilarious joke but Yayoi didn't really get it. He ordered the tickets. Great.

_"In any case, can you at least say if there will be a fair share of solos aside from the regular group songs? I'm sure many fans would be pleased to see their favorite idol singing center stage. Not that it's possible to pick a favorite out of you all!"_

This time, it was the youngest member, Ami Futami, who answered the question. Talking in a hyperactive voice, she replied, _"Each of us get at least two solos so all the awesome fans who support us can get something they would like."_ Then she snickered and added, _"Although I hope if you're coming you'd like us anyways."_

_"Ara, but we're always welcome to new fans, of course," _The final and oldest member, Azusa Miura, said gently.

The group itself seemed at first glance to be a completely random gathering of idols. The young, energetic girl matched with the serene twenty-year-old and led by a teenager who always carried around a stuffed rabbit. They were all as different as could get, and it was said that at the beginning of their career as Ryuugu Komachi many had been skeptical about if they would even be able to work together. But, as they very quickly proved, each one balanced the others out perfectly and they soon became one of the top idol units in the country.

According to the interview, at least. Before today Yayoi had only heard bits and pieces of a few of their songs scattered amongst radios or public TVs in her city. She hadn't even known the names of their members before the talk show host introduced them.

She looked once more at the clock and then turned off the radio, rinsing her breakfast plate in the sink and grabbing her apartment key before heading off to her job.

After all, it wasn't as though she'd be able to attend the concert anyways. Unlike the interviewer, she hadn't ordered a ticket, and even if it wasn't sold out by tonight she doubted she had anywhere near enough money to buy one. Besides, she wasn't too interested in stuff like idols. It was a completely different world from the one she lived, where she balanced two regular jobs a day and any number of odd ones just to scrape by in life.

Idols were there in the fantasy world, and Yayoi was here in reality. That was the simple truth.

/~/~/

"Ah, Takatsuki-san," the manager of the grocery store nodded to her affably as she entered. "Early as usual."

She smiled back brightly, putting on her apron and checking to make sure her name tag was fit perfectly before replying, "Yup! I just wanted to make sure everything was all set before the customers started arriving."

Once she was ready, Yayoi quickly began surveying the aisles and ensuring that everything was clean and nothing out of place. As she went, the manager followed, striking up friendly conversation with the only employee there.

"You work so hard," the manager said. "Don't you ever think you ought to reward yourself sometime?"

"Reward?" Yayoi looked surprised by the very idea. "Ehh, you mean a break? There's really no need for that, Mr. Manager! I'm fine like this!" she waved her arms energetically as she spoke as though to prove her point. "Ehehe... Besides, if I left who knows how this place would survive." It was a joke but her voice held a light tone to show she meant no disrespect.

The manager clearly didn't mind, though, as he'd already acknowledged that Yayoi was pretty much the reason the store ran so smoothly. She knew every shelf and corner of the building and was always happy to help a customer find something. Every morning she arranged produce and the such so that the freshest items were in the front, as she apparently already had experience in this sort of thing, so as to convenience things for the shoppers. If another worker was having trouble she would selflessly lend a hand, and all in all she was basically the hardest worker there. Not to mention she came every day of the week. She even knew all of the regular customers by name at this point.

"You don't need to worry about us," the manager protested. "I just feel that someone your age should be getting out more and spending time with friends. Maybe even get yourself a boyfriend. You shouldn't be working this much at this point in your life."

Yayoi smiled and waved off his concerns. "It's really okay, Mr. Manager. I'm happy working here."

That, and she didn't actually have any friends to hang out with. She'd lost contact with all of her high school friends not too long after graduation, and it wasn't as though she really had the time to find a boyfriend. Not with all the jobs she had to work just to survive. And so she just opened the store and waited.

/~/~/

The morning went by peacefully, what with the regular customers coming in and buying the usual to feed their families for the week. Yayoi chatted affably with them while she rang up their items and then bid them a good week. Some new customers arrived towards noon, probably just people passing by the area and wanting to buy a few snacks or the such. A new co-worker had some trouble at the cash register but Yayoi was quick to help out.

Now it was around three in the afternoon and business was slow. A few people were scattered about the store but for the most part all was calm and quiet. Yayoi was restocking some instant noodle packages when she was approached by a customer.

With a friendly smile and cheerful tone, Yayoi turned to the girl and said, "Can I help you with something?"

The girl was taller than her but didn't look too much older, especially judging by the bored expression on her face that indicated she'd rather be doing a million other things than shopping at a grocery store. The girl's eyes flicked once over Yayoi's body and the disinterested look was replaced by a sort of strained smile, as though she were trying to be nice but was just too exhausted to properly pull it off.

"I'm looking for chocolate and crackers," she said. "And a French meal, if you have it."

"I'm sorry, we don't carry French meals here, but if you'll follow me I can take you right to the snacks," Yayoi replied without missing a beat.

The girl blinked, looking vaguely surprised by the response, and then grinned. "Sounds good. Iorin will just have to deal." Then she winced.

Yayoi leaned forward in concern. "Are you okay?"

It took a few moments for the girl to respond, during which she seemed to be observing Yayoi even more, and then she nodded. "No worries~ just lead the way, Takatsuki-san!" She appeared to have gotten a much-needed energy boost in the time she spent staring at Yayoi.

Yayoi almost asked how she knew her name, and then remembered, duh, the name tag. You would've thought that after working so long at a grocery store she would've gotten used to random customers calling her by her name.

As Yayoi led the girl to the snacks aisle she couldn't help but think that she sounded a lot like Ami Futami from the idol unit she'd heard on the radio just that morning. It obviously couldn't be the idol herself, as Yayoi was quite sure that if it was there would also be a large crowd of reporters and fans following. She decided in the end to ignore it. Normal people were allowed to sound like famous people. It didn't really matter.

Well, then again there was that Iorin person. Was it also a coincidence that that name was similar to Iori Minase?

Before Yayoi could ponder over it anymore they'd arrived at the desired aisle. With another smile on her face, Yayoi turned back to the girl and said, "Here we are. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Yeah, what's your name?"

"Eh? I... think it says so right here-."

"No, your first name," the girl interrupted. She flashed another grin, one that Yayoi couldn't help genuinely smiling back at. "It's always better to properly thank someone who helped you, you know?"

Yayoi didn't know, but she replied anyways, "Takatsuki Yayoi, at your service."

The girl looked satisfied with this. Lifting her arms and sweeping them in a grand manner, she knelt into an exaggerated bow and said dramatically, "The humble me is forever in your debt, then, Takatsuki Yayoi-sama. Should you ever need help don't hesitate for a second to ask!"

The almost-seriousness of her voice nearly made Yayoi double over in laughter, but she remembered at the last second that she was at work and while she was at work she had to stay focused. So she allowed herself a giggle instead.

This only encouraged the girl as she proceeded to continue her over the top motions. "I would give my contact information but I'm afraid it's top secret. Don't worry, though! For should any danger approach I'll appear immediately to protect you! It's the least I can do for someone kind enough to direct me to the snacks aisle."

"Wow, are you some kind of superhero?" Yayoi asked, happy to play along. Besides, keeping the customer satisfied was all part of the job. "That's so cool!"

"Isn't it?" the girl laughed, her personality officially taking a complete one-eighty from the tired shopper who'd approached Yayoi only minutes ago. And then, struck by yet another idea, the girl suddenly knelt down and took Yayoi's hand in both of hers, locking eyes with the surprised employee. "Please allow me to serve you for as long as I may live. I shall be your humble servant until the day I die."

The girl's tone was playful but her face completely serious. Yayoi wasn't sure which one to follow, so she went with the best option she could think of.

"Then I guess that makes me your mistress." The sincere smile growing on her face was completely subconscious but she wasn't complaining. "I look forward to working with you."

The look of absolute delight on the girl's face was unmistakeable, and she opened her mouth to reply when out of nowhere a strangely familiar song rang out.

_Today, I'll tell everyone my secret love story I've kept to myself!_

The change this brought on was instantaneous. The girl's smile disappeared immediately as she dug out her cellphone and answered it. Whilst this was happening, the manager called Yayoi over to help out an elderly customer.

Despite not wanting to leave this girl, her job came first, so Yayoi waved goodbye even though the girl wasn't paying attention and left.

/~/~/

"You're coming to the concert tonight, right?"

Yayoi looked up from her assistance to the elderly lady and stared in surprise at the girl. She was holding a plastic bag full of chocolate and crackers, and was smiling at Yayoi as though the phone call had never happened.

"The Ryuugu Komachi concert," she prompted when Yayoi didn't reply. "You're gonna see it, right?"

"I... no... I mean, I don't really have a..."

The girl waved a ticket in front of Yayoi's face. "Well, now you do. See you tonight, okay, Yayoicchi?" Without even waiting for a response she tucked the ticket into Yayoi's front pocket and walked away, brown ponytail swinging rhythmically behind her.

Yayoi didn't quite know how to react to this. She took out the ticket and examined it closely. It certainly seemed to be the real deal, but the question was how the girl had gotten it and why she was so willing to just give it away.

Well, in any case, it looked like in the end she really was going to the concert. After all, it was always better to properly thank someone.

/~/~/

The man standing guard was scary.

Especially since he was glaring at her like she'd done something wrong.

Yayoi shrunk back from his gaze, looking at the ground uncomfortably and wondering what was going on. All she'd done was show him her ticket, just like everyone else whom she'd been waiting in line with. Was the ticket a fake, after all? Had the girl just been playing a cruel prank on her?

"Miss," the ticket-checker said in a low voice, "this is a front row ticket."

"Oh..." So it was real.

"Pardon me, but this particular ticket is one that wasn't on sale. Might I ask how you came across it?"

Wasn't on sale? Then why did it exist in the first place? "Um... a girl came up to me earlier and gave it to me..." Yayoi stopped. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say in this situation. "I mean... um..."

How had she gotten into this situation, again?

"Never mind," Yayoi reached out tentatively to take the ticket back. "I'll just leave now-."

"Yayoicchi, you made it!"

Yayoi jumped as the girl from earlier popped out from behind the guard. She was in a different, much more expensive-looking outfit but the mischievous grin was exactly the same. She bounced over to Yayoi and gave her a quick hug.

"Sorry, did Daiki scare you? My bad, I should've waited out here to make sure that wouldn't happen." She ducked her head in apology. Yayoi felt she ought to say something but before she could the girl went on, "Well, at least we're both here now! Come on, I wanna show you around."

She promptly grabbed Yayoi's hand and dragged her inside without even a glance at the bewildered ticket checker. Now, this was fine and all but soon Yayoi realized that they were straying from the large crowd of Ryuugu Komachi fans into a more isolated hallway guarded by more scary-looking men.

"Um... are you sure this is okay-?"

The girl suddenly stopped and held out a card clipped onto a string necklace. "Here! It's for you. It's a backstage pass so if anyone tries to bother you just show them this, okay?" She didn't wait for an answer, something that Yayoi felt she should start getting used to, and placed the pass around Yayoi's neck. "If you lose it just find me and I'll get you another one."

"I'm sorry, but... I never really caught your name."

At this point Yayoi was beginning to get the feeling that this girl was a lot more important than just another customer who'd walked into the store. But at the same time that was almost impossible to believe, because why would someone with connections to Ryuugu Komachi be so nice to an ordinary person like Yayoi?

"Who are you, exactly?"

The girl looked surprised by the question. "Ah... wait, I really never told you, huh? Haha, sorry, Yayoicchi!" Grinning leisurely, the girl pointed at herself and declared, "I'm Futami Mami. Twin sister of Futami Ami of Ryuugu Komachi. Pleased to meet you!"

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**I apologize for the OOCness and I can assure you that I will try harder to keep them in-character since from this point on there will be a lot more interaction.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

"What's taking her so long?" Iori grumbled as she slumped over the table. "She went off ages ago to get our food. Shouldn't she be back by now?"

"Ara, Iori-chan, just be patient. We are in a new area after all, and Mami-chan came out all this way just to meet us for the concert tonight," Azusa reminded the group's leader. "She must be just as tired as we are."

This was true. Not that Iori cared to admit it. She glanced over at Ami to see what her reaction was to this talk of her sister, but the older Futami was simply lying on the couch playing her handheld videogame. Iori rolled her eyes.

Although this concert had been planned for months, it still wasn't that big a deal in the members of Ryuugu Komachi's eyes. Just another concert, exactly the same as all the other ones before it. The only difference with this one was that Mami had actually traveled to this city from where she lived just to meet up with them, claiming that it wasn't that far away and besides, she wanted to know how her old friends were doing.

It was nice of her, Iori had to admit, especially since she'd been there when Ryuugu Komachi was first formed entirely. Mami was a close friend of the idol unit, so maybe it had been a little unfair to send her out like a lackey to get food. But still, it wasn't as though any of them could have gone to a public grocery store like that.

"Iorin's complaining," Ami's voice cut through Iori's thoughts, and the group leader immediately opened her mouth to counter when she realized that the other girl was on the phone. Most likely talking to Mami. Ami winced, looking a bit wounded by whatever Mami had said in response, and replied, "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I would've gone with you if I could."

So Mami was upset. That was rare, Iori noted. For as long as she'd known the Futami twins they could get dramatic and certainly over the top but never downright _mad_. Then again, they'd also been inseparable... until Ryuugu Komachi began.

"Hey... when you get back, let's beat the last stage together. Just like we used to," Ami waved her game in the air with a grin, obviously attempting to cheer her sister up.

Iori wasn't sure if this worked as Ami hung up the phone almost immediately after. The glare the younger girl sent her told her that it mostly hadn't.

"Iorin, you'd better make it up to her," she said, frowning. "Mami isn't someone you can just boss around."

"It's not as though I had any other choice," Iori defended herself. "Ritsuko's sleeping and I doubt this hotel has something as simple as _chocolate and crackers_."

"So you send her off to find a French meal in a grocery store?"

"Look, what're you getting so mad for? You didn't seem to have a problem with it when she left."

Ami didn't have a response, but no feeling of satisfaction granted Iori. Azusa came between them, opening her mouth to try to quell the argument, but Iori just turned away and grabbed the ribbon out of her hair, allowing her bangs to fall over her forehead. Taking a hat and the key to the room, she announced that she was going for a walk and left.

/~/~/

Yes, maybe she could've just done this to go buy the snacks rather than having Mami do it but there was no guarantee that the disguise would work for a very long time. And if someone had recognized her while she was in the store she would've been trapped and caught in a very bad situation. Honestly, why couldn't Mami stop whining for once and actually take a look at the big picture? Logically speaking there was no way any of the Ryuugu Komachi members could have gone out.

"And now they're all treating me like I'm the bad guy," she muttered.

She walked down the street, avoiding eye contact with all the other pedestrians just incase one should somehow recognize her. None of them had so far, which meant that constantly exposing her forehead while in the media left for a working disguise by simply covering it in public. That was good.

In her pocket, her cellphone began to ring, but she saw that it was Ritsuko and decided not to pick up. Undoubtedly her producer would just end up scolding her for overreacting and then order her to return, which, even if it was the best idea, she really didn't feel like doing.

Besides, she'd be sure to return before the concert. It wasn't as though she would abandon her group members just because of one stupid argument.

"You know, you're acting very suspicious."

The blonde who'd spoken seemed to have literally materialized beside her.

"You're not looking at people, you didn't answer your phone, and most importantly," the blonde slid in front of her and pointed rather obnoxiously right at her face, "that hat."

"... Are you stalking me?"

The blonde looked surprised by that, although why she would was anyone's guess. Iori glared at her, hoping that would be enough to make her go away, but alas, it didn't, and the blonde said, "Miki's not a stalker. Miki just thinks you're kind of sketchy."

Sketchy? Iori? And what was with the talking in third person? She practically just gave away her identity! Well, no, since it was just her first name, but still. Iori got the feeling she was getting involved with someone very strange. Best to just walk away...

"Are you ignoring Miki?" the blonde inevitably followed. "That's hurtful. You should at least say something in response. How about your name?"

"How about, go away before I call the police?"

"Ne, did it hurt?"

"It's hurting right now..."

"When you fell down from heaven."

"... What?"

Miki grinned shamelessly. "'Cause you're super cute!"

"... _What_?"

"Miki's flirting with you," the blonde said as though it actually needed explanation. She leaned forward expectantly. "Is it working?"

This person was weird. Very weird.

/~/~/

"Are you going somewhere? Miki can take you. Miki knows this place like the back of Miki's hand!"

"I don't need your help, thanks..."

"So what's your name?"

"I'm pretty tempted to call the police right now."

"Go for it. Miki doesn't think you will."

Pretty cocky for a stalker. Iori decided maybe it really was best to just return to the hotel. Then she could just leave the rest to Ritsuko. The thought that Miki was actually a fan who recognized Iori and was just trolling her right now occurred. But the blonde did seem a bit too oblivious to really know Iori's true identity.

"Do you always go up to random strangers on the street and annoy them?"

"Only if they're as cute as you. Which is to say this is the first time."

"Should I be flattered?"

"You should be flattered that you might be the first person I've met whom I wouldn't mind sharing an onigiri with."

"Lovely."

As in annoying. Even if Miki didn't seem to mean any harm, all this shameless flirting was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. Of course Iori always dealt with love letters from fans she'd never met but this was the first time she'd ever been approached by someone who, aside from not even knowing who she was, talked with her so openly. Seriously, they'd met three minutes ago and Miki was already proclaiming her supposed love for her.

"Who are you again?"

This question pleased the blonde more than Iori had intended it to. "Miki's name is Hoshii Miki! Nice to meet you."

"I almost wish I could say the same."

"So are you going to tell Miki your name now?"

"Nah, I only asked so I would be able to properly fill out a restraining order."

Miki laughed as though she actually thought it was funny. Which she probably did. Nothing better than having the girl you're flirting with file a restraining order against you.

"Ne, are you going to go to the concert tonight?"

"Ryuugu Komachi?"

"So you are! Miki's going too. Maybe we'll see each other."

_Oh, you'll definitely be seeing me._ Wait. Bad. If Miki saw her on stage she'd probably be able to connect her to the person Miki was talking to right now. Iori with bangs up to Iori with bangs down. But wait. Why was that bad? So Miki would forever suffer knowing she'd flirted with one of the most popular idols in Japan and didn't even know it. Not bad. Mean, but not bad.

Iori's internal conversation was cut off when Miki poked her forehead and then promptly lifted up her bangs.

_Holy crap-_ "What are you doing?" Iori stepped back abruptly, pulling her hat down so it covered her forehead again.

Miki tilted her head to one side, looking to be very much in deep thought about something. Iori lifted her chin defiantly. Okay, so Miki might have just figured out that she's actually Iori Minase, leader of the incredibly famous idol unit Ryuugu Komachi. That was fine. There was still a way out of this. Probably.

"Something wrong?" Iori initiated the challenge, waiting in anticipation to see what Miki would do. By now she was almost positive that Miki had already seen through her disguise (granted, she took her disguise apart for a moment but same thing).

"Deko-chan!" was the blonde's cheerful response.

"Okay... what?" This might be the first time in her life that Iori had questioned a person's intentions so many times in less than ten minutes.

Lifting her hand, Miki tapped her own forehead before pointing at Iori again. "Your forehead's huge! So if you're not going to tell Miki your name it's fine if Miki calls you Deko-chan, right?"

"No! That's not okay! Not even a bit!"

"Haha, well, it's that or you'll tell Miki your name."

So Miki hadn't figured out who she was- good thing. But Miki had just given her an infuriating nickname- bad thing.

"Just for that I'll never tell you my name!"

"Then Miki will just have to call you Deko-chan for the rest of your life." And then she smiled. A lazy, irritating, obnoxious smile that Iori really wanted to wipe off her face. Who did she think she was, acting as though she'd already won the battle?

Luckily, Iori still had one more card to play. Her trump that absolutely wouldn't fail!

"That's only if you ever see me again."

And with that she walked into the hotel and back to her room, offering not even a second glance to the blonde she'd left behind.

/~/~/

"Take that! Super-Awesome-Ami-Mami-Combo Attack!"

Was what Iori walked into when she entered the room.

Ami and Mami were going crazy over their game, both of them sprawled out on the floor and slamming buttons as though they had every intention of breaking them. Azusa was seated at the table, nibbling daintily on the crackers Mami had bought, and Ritsuko was biting into a chocolate bar while reading a book.

"Took you long enough to get back," their producer commented as she munched on the chocolate.

Iori ignored her, instead noting that this scene was a bit strange, as she would have thought that Ritsuko would be making everyone practice right before the concert. In fact, usually they would be at the concert hall by now. Maybe their producer was going easy on them because Mami was here?

Deciding it didn't matter that much, Iori walked over to the table and took a cracker, observing the twins wordlessly. At least both of them seemed to be in a much better mood. Iori made a mental note to apologize for being so fussy, even if it wasn't her fault at all and every single one of her actions had been done because it logically made sense.

"Iorin, guess what!" Ami called without looking up from her game. "Mami said she ran into a cute worker at the grocery store!"

"Is that so?" Iori replied. Maybe with this she wouldn't have to apologize. "Did she get the name?"

"Yayoi Takatsuki," Mami answered this time. "I gave her my ticket so she'll be at the concert tonight."

"You flirted with her." This was a statement and not a question. "You didn't give yourself away, did you?"

Ami and Mami both looked up with mischievous grins. Iori shook her head and glanced at Azusa. The oldest member merely smiled and shrugged.

"She's really cute," Mami said as though that justified everything.

"Yes, we covered that. Did you give yourself away?"

"You mean, did I tell her that I am the sister of one of the top idols in Japan shopping at a grocery store to buy chocolate and crackers for said sister and her group members? Nope, can't say I did, Iorin."

Iori frowned, unable to tell if the sarcasm was out of spite or humor. "You're not still mad, are you?" she asked, deciding a confrontational approach was best.

"Nah, it'd be unfair to get mad at you, Iorin. You were right, after all. It's not as though you can go out in public without people recognizing who you are."

Now Iori couldn't tell if this was a jibe at the fact that she'd just gone out for a walk and returned without so much as an incident. If you didn't count that shameless blonde stalker, of course. But Mami didn't know about her.

Finally, Iori rolled her eyes and placed one foot slight behind the other, bowing graciously as she did so. "My deepest apologies, O-Great-and-Amazing Mami. I'll think twice before asking you to buy stuff for me next time."

Mami grinned and approached the leader of Ryuugu Komachi. Leaning down, she flicked the other girl's forehead and said cheerfully, "Apology accepted. Now was that so hard, Iorin?"

"Seriously, were you mad or not?" Iori grumbled, taking another cracker from the package in front of Azusa. "In any case," she went on without waiting for a response, "when are we getting to the concert hall? The thing starts in three and a half hours. Are you sure we have enough time to get ready?"

"What's this? Iorin's getting worried about a concert?" Ami gasped.

"Well, of course. It's only your one-hundred-and-fifth one," Mami added.

Exchanging a glance with each other, they both shot a smirk at Iori, and Ami said, "Have someone to impress tonight, Iorin?"

"A special someone you met on your walk today?" her sister chimed in.

Okay, this was just getting annoying. And kind of creepy. "I didn't meet anyone," Iori denied. "I just want to make sure we don't screw this concert up for Mami's new girlfriend. Ritsuko. Are we going?"

"Yeah, I just called the front desk. The limo should be ready in a minute so let's get going."

And so they left, everyone once again in a good mood for the most part. Although Iori couldn't help but wonder if she really would get to see Miki again tonight.

Not that she wanted to, of course. She'd be happy if she never saw that stalker again for the rest of her life.

She was just wondering.

* * *

**I forgot to mention in the last chapter so I'll say it here. Big thanks to androidilenya for beta'ing this story! Haha, yeah, kind of a big thing to forget but at least I got around to it.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Chihaya-chan, you really like singing, don't you?"

This was an understatement and Haruka knew it. Chihaya didn't "really like" singing. She lived for singing. Even though she didn't always sing in front of Haruka, the ribbon-wearing girl still knew how much musical ability her friend had and often pushed her to audition for being an idol. But Chihaya always refused, stating that she had no interest in being one as she only wanted to sing, not do other annoying activities like commercials or the such.

That said, Chihaya could not understand why Haruka was being so insistant on the topic. She was sure that this incredibly obvious conversation starter would be another attempt to get Chihaya to try and become an idol. But she played along anyways.

"Yes."

"Then look at what I got!" Haruka exclaimed, proudly flaunting the two tickets in front of her friend's face.

Chihaya only blinked, reared her head back a little so she wouldn't go cross-eyed, and then said rather plainly, "Tickets?"

Haruka nodded, undeterred by the other girl's lack of excitement, and said, "For the Ryuugu Komachi concert tonight! You'll come with me, won't you?"

Ryuugu Komachi. Of course Chihaya had heard of it, and had also heard their songs on the radio occasionally, but she'd never had much interest in the idol unit. Sure, their songs were good and their voices admittedly complimented each other very well but Chihaya had simply never been very much of a fan.

Still, it would be incredibly rude to turn down Haruka, especially if she'd already bought the tickets. No doubt, considering how popular Ryuugu Komachi was, the tickets had been very difficult and expensive to get. If Haruka was willing to do that much for her, Chihaya would have to be a very bad friend to decline.

So she took the ticket with a smile, thanking Haruka as gratefully as she could. The delight that lit up on Haruka's face told Chihaya she had made the right decision.

"That's great! I was so worried you would say no, since you don't seem to like idols very much."

"That's not true. I'm very happy that you would do this for me, Haruka. Thank you."

Haruka smiled. "Well, of course. I'd do anything for Chihaya-chan. You're my best friend, after all." Chihaya felt her face begin to heat up but before she could say anything Haruka continued on, "So we'll meet at 6:30 in front of the concert hall? It starts at 7 so that should be fine, right?"

Chihaya nodded. She had no problems with that plan. Satisfied by this, Haruka bid her a cheerful farewell and left, apparently going home to prepare for the concert. Chihaya felt she ought to do the same, as with Haruka gone she had nothing better to do.

The question was... how did one get ready for a concert?

/~/~/

Chihaya stared blankly at her limited wardrobe. Was there a certain dress code for concerts? Things that would be acceptable to wear and other things that wouldn't? If so, then what were things that she was allowed to wear? And what if she didn't have it? And even if there wasn't a dress code... she still had no idea what to wear.

This shouldn't be this hard. Chihaya almost couldn't believe that she'd really never been to a concert before, despite her love for music. Sure, she'd been to operas but for those it was nearly obvious that you had to dress formally. So going by that... you had to dress casually for a pop concert?

In the end, Chihaya went for the in-between. A simple black dress shirt with a dark blue tie and black pants. Yeah, this looked fine. And even if it wasn't, at least Haruka would like it, right? A while ago Haruka had specifically told her she liked that outfit. So yeah. It was fine.

/~/~/

Something Haruka hadn't taken into account was the line. Chihaya had nearly done a double-take when she first saw it, having arrived at the scene at 6:20 (since it was always good to be early). The stream of Ryuugu Komachi fans must have stretched at least four blocks, and here she was at the very back of it. It would take hours just to get anywhere near the front. Were they people who were trying to buy tickets at the last minute? Or was the concert hall honestly big enough to hold them all?

Chihaya shook her head. In any case, Haruka had asked to meet her in front of the concert hall so she had to get in front of the concert hall. Glancing around, she tried to find the best route to get around the giant line. The crowd of people were literally taking up the entire sidewalk so her only option was to go the next street over and travel from there.

Well, nothing wrong with that. Chihaya exited the line, pushing past the people who were waiting behind her, and quickly found a small alley that led across to the neighboring street.

The only thing was, there was another woman wandering about in this alley, looking rather lost. A strangely familiar-looking woman, despite the fact that Chihaya was sure she'd never met her before. And it was only after a few moments of staring (and being stared at by the woman) that Chihaya finally realized who she was.

"Miura Azusa?"

/~/~/

Azusa was actually a lot friendlier than Chihaya had thought she would be.

As soon as Chihaya had initiated conversation (as in, said aloud the idol's name) Azusa had immediately began blurting out everything that had happened to her that would result in her becoming lost without a clue as to where to find the rest of her unit and begging that Chihaya help her back to the concert hall. As this concert hall was only a street away, Chihaya found no problem in walking with her until they reached it. It was the destination they both wished to reach so it'd have been pointless to say no.

While they walked, Azusa, having calmed down considerably since her previous outburst, attempted to strike friendly conversation with her fellow blunette.

"Are you coming to see our concert, as well?"

"Yes."

"That's wonderful. I must say, I really am so happy that we have so many fans in this city."

Chihaya wanted to correct her and say that she wasn't actually a fan and was only attending because Haruka had gone ahead and bought tickets for her... but she thought that'd be rude. So she just nodded instead.

"I'm sorry, even though you already know my name I haven't yet caught yours."

"Ah... Kisaragi Chihaya. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Azusa blinked, looking just the slightest bit startled for some reason, and then smiled gently. "Same to you, Chihaya-san."

Chihaya didn't quite understand, but for some reason seeing Azusa's smile almost made her want to smile back. And Chihaya rarely smiled around anyone who wasn't Haruka. Was this the legendary kindness effect the eldest Ryuugu Komachi member was rumored to have? How intriguing.

"Chihaya-san, if you wouldn't mind, I've been wondering... If you will be attending our concert, what are you doing all the way out here?"

"The concert hall is only the next street over. We'll be making a turn to get to it soon."

Azusa's red eyes widened at this news. "Ara, is that so? And here I was worrying that I had strayed to the other end of the city."

The other end of the city? Was that even possible? Well, if she'd said so, and she honestly sounded like she was telling the truth, Chihaya had no business in questioning it. She chose to simply shrug in response.

For some reason, this seemed to amuse the older woman, as she smiled again. "You must be wondering how that could even be possible," she guessed.

Chihaya looked at her and then quickly dropped her gaze in guilt. How rude of her. Azusa must get that a lot from people and Chihaya had been no different.

"Hm? There's no need to feel ashamed, Chihaya-san. It would appear as though I'm simply... what was the term Iori-chan used? Mentally challenged when it comes to directions." And then she giggled as though the jab at her mental ability was funny.

"Doesn't that seem a little... disrespectful?"

"Oh, yes, perhaps to other people it does sound as though Iori-chan was trying to be mean. But that's just the way she is. She meant no harm when she said that."

So the little princess idol was actually a little devil. Not that Chihaya had even for one second believed that the persona each Ryuugu Komachi member created for themselves was true. But on the other hand, Azusa certainly seemed to be the real deal. Was she just keeping up the facade because she was around someone she assumed to be a fan?

Deciding it didn't really matter if the Azusa before her was fake or not, Chihaya changed the subject. "Miura-san, once we arrive at the concert hall do you know where to go from there? I'm afraid I won't be allowed in unless I wait in line like everyone else, so I won't be able to accompany you inside."

"Really?" for some reason, Azusa seemed worried by this. "Hm... perhaps if I escorted you in it would be alright? After all, I'm quite sure Mami-chan was going to do the same thing..."

What? Escorted in by a Ryuugu Komachi member? That was the last thing Chihaya wanted! It would attract so much unnecessary attention, plus she'd never be able to find Haruka that way. "Ah, there's really no need, Miura-san. I mean, I'm sure you can find one of the guards to help you get back to your group, right?"

Azusa's gaze lowered slightly at Chihaya's words. "Yes, that's true... I was just hoping to repay you for taking the time to help me right now. Iori-chan always said that a backstage pass was one of the greatest gifts a fan could be granted."

Chihaya felt another prick of guilt. This really couldn't even be counted as helping the idol- they were just going to the same place. She didn't need to be repaid for a favor she never did. And yet Azusa seemed genuinely disappointed... Chihaya couldn't tell which decision was the politest one. Well, they always said the truth was the way out.

"Actually, Miura-san, I already made a promise to my friend that I would meet her in front of the hall," Chihaya said. "So there's really no need to pay me back. I don't mind this at all."

"A friend? My, that's wonderful!" Azusa brightened up considerably, clapping her hands in front of her with a pleasant smile on her face once again.

Chihaya nodded, again struggling not to smile back. It somehow just seemed wrong to be so casual with someone like Azusa. "That's right," she said, "so I'll see you off once we find a guard that can help you and-."

"Then how about once you find her I let you both in?"

"... eh?"

/~/~/

Azusa clearly saw nothing wrong with her plan. It seemed as though she was willing to do whatever was necessary in taking Chihaya backstage, even if it meant another girl whom she'd never met before tagging along as well.

In any case, if Haruka didn't mind it maybe it was okay. Chihaya just hoped people wouldn't be staring at her as she went in.

"So what time were you supposed to meet your friend?" Azusa asked as they made the turn to get to the street where the concert hall was.

Already they could see the line of people in the distance, their different conversations creating a loud buzz in Chihaya's ears. She winced- as though the speakers blasting Ryuugu Komachi songs weren't bad enough. Err, not that Ryuugu Komachi songs were bad. They were just loud. Way too loud...

"Around now, actually," Chihaya replied after a glance at her watch. She strained her eyes, trying to make out Haruka amongst the large crowd but to no avail. She'd just have to get closer to all that noise.

"What does she look like? I can help look for her," the idol offered kindly.

Chihaya thought for a moment, wondering what would be the best way to describe Haruka. "I suppose her trademarks would her hair ribbons. She has brown hair and is a little bit shorter than I am. Ah, and she trips a lot, too."

"Trips a lot? Well, that should certainly make her easy to find."

"Before starting, though, Miura-san... are you sure it's okay for you to just walk amongst the crowd like that? You're a third of the reason these people came here, after all," Chihaya pointed out.

The idol froze in her tracks. This thought obviously hadn't occurred to her until just now. "Ah... you're right... we could attract a lot of unnecessary attention." She frowned, wondering how to get by this new obstacle.

Chihaya waited patiently, as she didn't want to suggest yet again that Azusa could just go in without her. Mostly because she knew if she repeated herself it would just start to get annoying. That and the fact that she was somehow beginning to oppose the idea of separating with Azusa- wait, no, that was a bad thing to think. A very bad thing to think. Luckily, before she could dwell on it any further, Azusa had finally come up with another idea.

Holding out a backstage pass, the idol said somewhat ruefully, "I suppose we can just meet up inside. Once you find your friend the both of you only have to show the guards this pass and you should be allowed free access to more or less anywhere you want to go in the building. Or, at least, that's what Iori-chan said."

Despite being unsure of whether one pass would be sufficient for both her and Haruka, Chihaya took it with a polite word of gratitude.

As she did, Azusa's expression lightened into a small smile. "I'll wait for you," she added quietly.

The corner of Chihaya's mouth twitched upwards. Careful to keep her voice as neutral as it'd always been, struggling to keep eye contact without doing something weird (and she didn't even know why, she just felt she'd do something completely out of the ordinary if she didn't restrain herself properly) she replied, "I'll join you as soon as I can, then."

This answer pleased Azusa, as the idol waved a hand in farewell and headed off on her own, cautious to stay on a more isolated path as she approached the concert hall. Chihaya turned and began her search for Haruka, trying to focus all her thoughts on just catching a glimpse of a bright red hair ribbon or cheerful green eyes.

But for some reason she couldn't even begin to try to explain, her mind kept wandering to short blue hair and red eyes, instead.

* * *

**It's Iorin's birthday so I thought I should try to get this up today. Even though she's not really in this chapter. Haha, oh well. Honestly, I wanted Haruka to be in this chapter a lot more but it didn't really turn out that way... Next time for sure!**

**Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed this story. I honestly didn't expect to get all the way up to eight by now. Please look forward to the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Miki puffed out her cheeks in irritation. "Miki's telling the truth, you know! Miki really did meet a super cute girl and she said she was coming to this concert. Miki will prove it to you."

Her friend frowned, folding her arms against her chest and tilting her head to one side, clearly contemplating what to do about Miki's stubbornness. "It's not as though I don't believe you, you know. It's just if your meeting with her really went as you told it I don't think she'll actually want anything to do with you for the rest of eternity."

"What?" Miki blinked, actually looking hurt by the comment. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that you can be kind of oblivious sometimes, you know?" Hibiki tapped her temple a few times with one finger to emphasize her words. "I don't think just telling her up front that you're flirting with her and then going ahead and calling her a really obnoxious nickname will score you any points."

"It wasn't obnoxious. It made sense," Miki protested.

Hibiki sighed. "That's the thing, Miki. Even if you think it does it doesn't mean other people will." And then, obviously unwilling to continue on this topic, the black-haired girl glanced around and said, "Geez, where's Takane? We can't get in line without her... I knew we should've picked her up."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Miki said, oblivious to or just ignoring Hibiki's attempt at a subject-change. "If it makes sense it makes sense!"

"Yeah, yeah, it makes sense. Just not in a good way. Look, it's kinda hard to explain, especially to you, Miki."

"Okay, now what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Hibiki just shook her head. She wasn't the best person to be talking to Miki about this kind of stuff, anyway, but she knew things would be worse off if she left it to Takane. Turning her attention back to the long line, she wondered once more just where their silver-haired friend was. The longer they waited out of line, the longer they'd have to wait in line, and then the later they'd be to the concert.

"Do you think we should call her?" she asked the blonde.

Miki, of course, wasn't paying attention, instead studying a poster of Ryuugu Komachi rather intently. Hibiki ignored this, as she knew that Miki greatly admired the idol unit. That was the main reason Hibiki and Takane had decided to buy the concert tickets as an early birthday present for her. Sure, they'd been insanely expensive, and sure, Takane was actually the one who'd paid for the majority of it, but Miki was their friend and besides, the blonde had needed some cheering up after she accidentally got her (now former) boyfriend hit by a truck.

"Hibiki, that's her," Miki suddenly declared.

Hibiki snapped her head up to look at her. "What, Takane?" She visibly deflated when she saw Miki pointing at the poster. "Okay... what?"

"That's the girl Miki saw earlier today," she clarified. Tapping the smiling picture of Iori Minase, Miki said, "This is Deko-chan. Who knew she was actually Iori-chan, huh? Looks like even idols need to take a break once in a while."

"Miki... are you okay?"

Miki was silent for a moment, and then turned back to Hibiki, her face suddenly expressionless. "You still don't believe Miki, do you?" she said, her voice lowering into a broken, almost bitter tone. "Miki's not lying, you know. Miki really did see Iori on the street today."

Hibiki sighed. This was really the last thing she needed right now... Locking eyes with the green-eyed girl, she said in a clear voice, "Alright. Okay, look, Miki. You are aware that you're one of my best friends, right?"

The blonde didn't respond, instead staring dully at the ground. But Hibiki didn't miss the quick glance upwards Miki had given, indicating that she was at least a bit interested to hear where Hibiki was going with this.

"Well, you are. So I believe you. I believe that while you were taking a walk today you ran into Ryuugu Komachi's lead singer and flirted with her and agreed to meet her here. I really do." Hibiki paused for a moment to let this sink in. "Now, my question is, what are you going to do about it? So you met Iori. What makes you think that she's going to acknowledge that? Especially now, when she's back in her home turf, surrounded by tons of guards and everything. At this point, what does it even matter if you saw her or not?"

"Deko-chan wouldn't do that," Miki protested.

"How do you know? You talked to her for five minutes and she didn't even say good-bye to you by the end of it all."

"Miki will prove it to you."

"How?"

"Miki will, okay?"

Sensing that pushing this topic wouldn't end well for either of them, Hibiki let it drop. It didn't matter what Miki was thinking right now, so long as it wasn't too insane. Right now their first priority should be finding Takane. And that's what she told Miki as she walked away to find their silver-haired friend, adding a hasty order to not move so they wouldn't waste any more time looking for each other.

And when she returned after finally finding Takane amidst the large crowd of people (at least the taller girl had had the decency to apologize for being late) Hibiki supposed she should have suspected that Miki wouldn't be there.

Because of course the blonde wouldn't want to do one little thing in return to make her life a bit easier. Of course not.

/~/~/

"This is your ticket?"

Mami waved a hand. "Yeah, but since I'm the younger Futami it doesn't really matter whether I have it or not. That's why it was okay to give it to you!" Then she grinned sheepishly and added, "It's also why Daiki was giving you such a hard time just now. Sorry, I didn't really see that one coming."

Yayoi shook her head. What was she supposed to say? _No, it's all your fault that I was confronted by a scary man._ No way, not after Mami had been so nice to her all day! But really... why was she being singled out by someone so famous? It didn't make sense. Earlier today Yayoi had just been your average person trying to make a living, and now here she was backstage to a Ryuugu Komachi concert talking to the twin sister of one of the idols of aforementioned unit.

"More importantly, I should be thanking you... Futami-san. I know this is a really big honor for someone like me and I really appreciate it but-."

"Ehh? Yayoicchi, you shouldn't be thinking about it like that," Mami leaned forward suddenly, her tone scolding yet her eyes still playful. "You're my friend so of course I'd invite you over! Also, don't call me that, it's so _formal_." She rolled eyes to emphasize her point. "Just Mami is fine, don't you think?"

Just Mami? Even though they'd only met a few hours ago? That was way too informal! Especially since this was _Mami Futami_.

The other girl seemed to take Yayoi's silence as a bad sign, as her grin quickly disappeared to be replaced by a more worried expression. "Ah, well, I guess if it's too weird you can just forget about it... But I mean, we are friends, right?"

"Of course we are," Yayoi responded sincerely, because even if the situation was unbelievable she didn't doubt for a second that she and Mami were by this point at least close acquaintances. Which is to say, friends. And besides, the scared look that had suddenly appeared on Mami's face had been almost painful to see, as though the younger twin had honestly been terrified that Yayoi didn't like her.

Although, of course, that thought alone was ridiculous, because despite only knowing her for a short time Yayoi had already decided that Mami was a very hard person to dislike.

"Mami-chan, do you sing, too?" Yayoi finally said, thinking that a change of subject would be nice.

By those words alone Mami seemed to have regained her energy. It must be nice, Yayoi thought, being able to bounce right back so easily. It clearly didn't take much to make the other girl happy.

"Sure I can sing," she replied, once again waving her arms around to gesticulate her meaning. "Ami and I are twins, after all! Hey, you know, I was thinking of trying out to be an idol, too. Just like Ami! Yayoicchi, you wanna try out with me?"

"E-eh? Well, I've never really thought about it before-."

"Really? You look like you'd make a great idol," Mami suddenly grabbed Yayoi's arms, lifting them up and then turning the shorter girl around so that she could examine her. "Not that I really know about this kind of stuff. But I bet you'd be a good dancer! Have you ever tried out stuff like that?"

"Not much..." Yayoi knew she had good stamina and energy but she'd always directed those towards her jobs, moving things around and such. She'd never considered using those traits for an arts activity. "I've been pretty busy since getting out of high school so I guess I never got a chance to think about it."

Mami actually looked surprised by this, but that was quickly replaced by a more determined look. "In that case, Yayoicchi, you should try it out. I'd bet anything that you're a great dancer! Here, follow me."

And with that she grabbed Yayoi's hand and dragged her away, dodging through stage workers and racks of costumes and carts as she ran. Turning a corner, they dashed through a hallway and very soon stopped in front of a room. Without even knocking, Mami burst in, announcing, "This is Yayoicchi! Show her one of your dances!"

And so Yayoi met the members of Ryuugu Komachi.

Two of them, anyway.

/~/~/

Ami promptly burst out laughing, which Iori did not appreciate one bit.

It was bad enough that Azusa had gone missing only half an hour before their concert began but now Mami just had to drag her new girlfriend into the room demanding for Iori to dance like an entertainer?

Well, she kind of was an entertainer but still.

"Does it look like I have the time for this?" Iori growled. "We have to find Azusa!"

Mami pouted. "Iorin, that's not a good first impression. Here, let's try again."

She closed the door.

Iori hung her head.

Mami burst in, announcing, "This is Yayoicchi! Show her one of your dances!"

The orange-haired girl next to her looked completely bewildered. Iori almost felt sorry for her that she was being forced to go along with Mami's eccentrics. No, in all honesty, she _did_ feel sorry for her.

"Yo, Yayoicchi!" Ami was more than happy to begin. "I'm Futami Ami, Mami's sister. Nice to meet you!"

Looking flustered now, Yayoi hastily bowed and said, "Takatsuki Yayoi, pleased to meet you."

"Hm~ You're just as cute as Mami said," Ami said approvingly. Mami nodded at this. Winking, Ami added, "It's your first time seeing us live, right? Hope you enjoy the concert~"

"Um... thank you..."

Now all eyes were on Iori. The self-proclaimed leader sighed and walked over, nodding in greeting as she introduced herself. "Minase Iori. Thanks for coming. I'd love to introduce our third member to you as well but unfortunately she seems to be missing right now."

"Azusa-oneechan always gets lost," Mami explained. "It's like her character trait!"

"Ritsuko-san, our producer, is out looking for her right now," Iori continued. "In fact, I think I'd better go assist her. It'd be terrible if Azusa wound up on the other side of the city by the time our concert began. Ami and Mami can dance for you if you're that interested in learning."

Yayoi seemed a bit taken aback by her attitude. Iori wondered if maybe she was being too serious. Usually to the public she played a happy flirtatious young girl, but right now she was stressed and didn't really have the energy to put on that mask. She made a mental note to apologize for that later, assuming Yayoi showed up in her life again.

"Iorin's nature is to be uptight, don't worry about it," Mami told Yayoi. "Ami and I are more than good enough to test you out!"

"T-test?" Yayoi repeated. This was clearly news to her.

Iori rolled her eyes. "You'll have to get used to this if you have someone like Mami for your girlfriend. Anyways, I'm off. Later."

Yayoi promptly turned a bright red, an adorably embarrassed expression coming over her face. "W-wait, what?"

"That was a joke," Iori felt the need to explain, waving a hand to emphasize her words as she passed the other girl. "Relax."

"Oh... I'm sorry."

Iori didn't respond, as Mami promptly wrapped the girl in a one-armed hug and started talking about who-knows-what. The Ryuugu Komachi leader instead walked outside the room and proceeded a search for the missing member. Not that she really knew where to look in the first place. She also highly doubted that Azusa would be in the building anyways.

Well, anything to get out of that room. Being stuck with Ami had been bad enough but if Mami was going to show up with some random girl it would just get unbearable. Maybe she should call this a walk instead. Akin to the one she'd taken earlier. Wow, she must really be stressed today if she had to take two breaks from her fellow idols. At least here she didn't have to wear a disguise. This was her home turf.

And best of all, no annoying blonde.

/~/~/

"Miki thinks... Miki is lost."

Miki didn't really know where she'd taken a wrong turn. After sneaking in past the big scary guard she'd just gone with her gut instinct while avoiding any workers, and anyone who did see her was just some guy easy to seduce. Miki had big boobs and it'd be a waste not to use them after all~ Hibiki always told her to quit it but Miki does what Miki wants.

She was getting off topic. Basically, she had no idea where she was and even less of an idea where Deko-chan would be.

Plus, Hibiki had probably already found that she was gone. Miki winced at the thought. Hibiki wasn't particularly scary when she was mad but Miki still didn't like making her best friend upset. But maybe if Takane was around she'd be able to calm down the other girl. Takane just had that effect on people. And besides, it wasn't as though Miki was breaking any _laws_ by doing this, and she'd probably be back soon enough... So yeah.

"But still... this probably isn't good..."

Miki turned another corner, relieved that there weren't any workers there, and continued walking. "Maybe Miki should call out Deko-chan's name? That might work. Ah, but she wouldn't respond if Miki said 'Iori' 'cause she doesn't know that Miki knows her name yet."

It wasn't as though it would hurt anyone.

"Okay then..." Miki took in a deep breath and called, "Deko-chan~ Miki's kind of lost so if you could help Miki out Miki would really appreciate it!"

"You have got to be kidding me."

Immediate response? Score! With a grin, Miki turned around, delighted to see the girl from earlier standing right in front of her. Iori didn't look nearly as pleased (more like surprised and horrified) but whatever. The important thing was, mission accomplished!

"Miki didn't expect that to actually work. Can Miki try that again some other time?"

* * *

**Haha, I'm so happy with how many reviews this story has by now. Ah~ I'm really grateful to all of you. I hope I can continue writing to your satisfaction!**

**By the way, did you hear the news? A new Idolmaster game for the PSP is coming out. It's called Shiny Fest and, similarly to SP, there are three different version with different idols in each one. Iori, Ami, Azusa, and Ritsuko return in it!**

**Well, anyways, thanks for reading :3**


	5. Chapter 5

"A backstage pass?"

Chihaya must have imagined it but she thought she saw a strange look- unhappiness? Jealousy?- come over Haruka's face for a moment. She dismissed it quickly, as her friend was just as soon smiling again, fawning over the small card Chihaya held in her hand.

"That's so cool! I can't believe Azusa-san actually gave this to you!" Haruka turned her gaze back to Chihaya, grinning. "You're so lucky, Chihaya-chan. I wish I'd been there with you."

Chihaya gave a small smile in return. "She said this was for the both of us to use. We're supposed to meet her inside."

"Really? She'll let me use it, too?"

"I told her I was meeting up with you and she immediately invited you as well."

"Wow, that's so nice of her!" Haruka clapped her hands together, looking absolutely delighted.

Chihaya nodded. It was wonderful that Haruka was so happy about this. It seemed like proper repayment for Haruka buying concert tickets for her in the first place. Plus, she'd been a little unsure of what to do if Haruka ended up not wanting to go with her, considering her promise to Azusa. If that situation had arose Chihaya had no idea whether she'd choose to stay with Haruka or keep her promise with the idol. Good thing it hadn't happened.

"So what're we standing around for? Let's go in right now! We've still got time before the concert starts," Haruka said. Then she paused and added, "We wouldn't want to keep your new friend waiting."

"That's true," Chihaya agreed. She again saw for a brief moment the strange look flash on Haruka's face, but as before it disappeared just as quickly as it arrived. She chose to ignore it for now but also decided to keep a close eye on Haruka. The last thing she wanted was for her to be upset, after all. "Let's go then."

"Right!"

/~/~/

"_Go my way_

_Go in front_

_I want to become the me_

_That I like the most._"

Bouncing up and down and waving their arms, it was clear to Yayoi that this dance was perfect for someone as energetic as the twins. And honestly, it looked pretty fun, too. To watch, at least. There was no way Yayoi could remember all those little movements essential to making the dance perfect. The song was very catchy as well, and somehow vaguely familiar. She must have heard it on the radio at some point before.

"Alright, Yayoicchi! Your turn!"

"Eh? I can't remember all that so quickly!"

Mami laughed, hopping behind Yayoi and giving her a small shove towards Ami. "No problem, no problem, just do what you can remember right now. Here, I'll do it with you. Ah! You should sing along, too!"

"But I don't know this song."

"That's okay, improvising is part of being an idol!"

Mami certainly wasn't getting the point. Yayoi let out a giggle and relented. Somehow she got the feeling that there was no winning when it came to the younger Futami. "Okay, I'll try," she said.

"Score!" Mami cheered.

She guided Yayoi to the left of Ami and in turn stood to the orange-haired girl's left. Yayoi suddenly became aware that Ami and Mami were standing not directly next to her but a little bit behind, in positions not unlike the ones Ami and Azusa usually assumed when onstage with Iori. In other words, it was as though she were the leader of her own idol unit.

"W-wait, is this really okay?"

"Why not?" Mami replied.

"When you have twins you can't have only one be the center of attention," Ami pointed out.

"Therefore you're the leader!"

Both twins smiled brightly, but that didn't get rid of the nervousness inside of Yayoi. What if she ended up completely embarrassing herself in front of Mami? Wait- in front of Mami and Ami, she corrected herself. There were three people in the room, and it was rude to forget about one of them.

As though sensing her discomfort, Mami approached her once again from behind, slinging her arms over Yayoi's shoulders and practically draping over her back. "Aw, what're you so worried about, Yayoicchi? It's just practice, you know. You can think of it as helping Ami warm up for her concert!"

"Yeah, with Azusa-oneechan missing and Iorin gone again we didn't actually have that much of a chance to rehearse," her sister backed her up.

Mami nodded. "No one's judging you. Besides, you'll do great regardless." She hugged Yayoi tightly, adding, "You believe me, right?"

Yayoi stiffened at the sudden embrace but quickly relaxed. It felt nice. Comforting, actually. Which was strange, considering she'd only known Mami for a short amount of time. In any case, she trusted her new friend. "I believe you."

"Awesome!" And all too quickly Mami had backed away, once again taking her place behind Yayoi. "Let's start, then. Three, two, one, go!"

/~/~/

"Do I want to know how you got here?"

"Aw, you sound disappointed to see Miki."

"Maybe I am."

"That can't be true 'cause you like Miki~"

"That is about the furthest away from the truth as you can get."

Miki smiled. Ah, Deko-chan, ever the little tsundere. A very cute tsundere at that. Feeling the need to inform Iori of this, Miki said, "You're just as cute when you're angry, you know. Hey, after the concert you wanna go get an onigiri?"

"Does it seem as though I'd have the time for that?" Iori ignored Miki's first sentence.

"So if you did have the time you'd want to?"

"I never said that!"

"It was implied," Miki winked, feeling a sense of satisfaction when a slight blush appeared on Iori's face. "Hey, your face is turning red. Does that mean Miki's right after all?"

If anything, Iori's face turned an even brighter shade of red, and she exclaimed, "No! Never in a million years! Shut up! How'd you even get in here?" She paused, apparently just now realizing something as her eyes grew wider and wider.

Miki waited patiently.

"Wait, how'd you figure out it was me?" Iori shouted.

"Miki can just tell things like this," Miki replied dismissively. "What kind of girlfriend would Miki be if Miki couldn't even see through your disguise?"

"I'm not your girlfriend!"

"Not yet, at least."

"You're so creepy."

"You still haven't answered Miki's question."

"No."

"That hurts. Hey, would you mind meeting with Miki's friends so Miki can prove it was you?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Aw, but then Hibiki wouldn't believe Miki..." Miki promptly lifted up her cellphone and took a picture. "Never mind. Thanks."

"What the-? Delete that! Delete that right now!"

Miki waved her phone tauntingly in front of the idol's face and stuck out her tongue, relishing at the infuriated expression Iori now wore. Was it just her or did Iori become cuter and cuter the more upset she got?

"Make me."

She did not expect Iori to step on her foot. Hard, too.

"Ow!"

"Delete it!"

"That hurt, Deko-chan... Gah!"

"And don't call me that!"

"Geez... You still look cute, though."

"Ugh..."

/~/~/

Haruka should be happy. She knew she should. Getting a backstage pass to one of the most famous idol units in Japan was not something granted to just anyone, so the fact that Chihaya had gotten one for them to share should have made her happy enough to last for weeks.

So what was this black feeling inside of her?

Following Azusa- who was even prettier in person than on posters or TV shows- who was chatting so comfortably with Chihaya, as though she was the one who had known Chihaya for years instead of Haruka, Haruka couldn't help the ugly feeling welling up. It was completely unreasonable, she knew. Azusa was just being the friendly, kind person everyone knew her for. And Chihaya... Well, to be honest, Haruka had never seen Chihaya warm up to someone so quickly before. It'd taken months for Chihaya to even become close enough to Haruka to actually tell her personal things.

This wasn't jealousy, was it? Haruka hoped it wasn't. That would make her a terrible person, because who would be so selfish as to think that their friend was only allowed to be their friend and not anyone else's?

"I would like to introduce you to my fellow members," Azusa was saying when Haruka tuned back into their conversation. "If I'm not mistaken, our dressing room should be right over here. You don't mind, do you?"

Chihaya shook her head, answering in that quiet, polite tone of hers, "I would love to meet them. Haruka, you're a bigger fan than I am. Are you excited?"

"Y-yeah, sure," Haruka coughed a few times to make up for her stutter, and then smiled. "I can't wait! Thank you so much for this opportunity, Azusa-san."

"Not at all," Azusa smiled back. "It's the least I can do for someone who was kind enough to escort me back here."

Escort? That was sure a fancy way to put it- Haruka shook her head. She didn't want to be thinking bitter thoughts about a person she'd just met. It was incredibly mean and unfair. So what if Chihaya liked her? That just meant Azusa really was a nice person. It shouldn't matter this much to Haruka. After all, it wasn't as though Chihaya would all of a sudden forget about her and abandon her, right?

Chihaya wasn't that kind of person. She wouldn't just leave her for someone else.

... Right?

/~/~/

"Ara, Iori-chan? You also brought a fan backstage? That's wonderful!"

Oh no. No, not right now, this was the last thing Iori needed. If Miki started blurting out all her proclamations of love for Iori, Azusa would no doubt become interested and start hounding her, and then Ami would get wind of it, and then Mami, and then everyone would just start bugging Iori about the stupid blonde that she wanted nothing to do with.

She needed to keep Miki quiet.

"That's right!" the blonde declared. "Miki is a huge fan of Deko-mmph... Iori-chan."

"Anyways," Iori said, taking her foot off of Miki's, "where were you, Azusa? We're so close to the start of the concert and you haven't even changed yet!"

"Ah, but isn't this the dressing room?"

"The dressing room is over there!" Iori pointed in the other direction, inwardly groaning at Azusa's oblivion. "Come on, I'll take you there. Miki, you might as well come along too." Who knew what kind of chaos would erupt from leaving Miki all alone in a place like this. "Just don't say anything dumb, okay?"

Azusa blinked. "Ara, Iori-chan, that's not a very nice thing to say to a fan."

"Miki doesn't mind! After all, it's just Iori-chan's way of showing her lo- oww... Miki doesn't mind!"

Iori shot a glare at Miki, trying to send her a telepathic message to shut the hell up. Miki smiled obliviously back. Iori rolled her eyes and turned away, finally coming face to face with the fans Azusa had brought along with her. Two of them? Really?

"If you'll all just follow me," Iori stated, nodding to them. She then began to walk towards the dressing room, trusting that everyone was right behind her. When she heard Azusa begin to talk to the other girls, she relaxed slightly, but quickly stiffened again when Miki caught up and started walking beside her.

"Miki gets to come? Miki knew you liked her~"

"Don't flatter yourself. It'd just be a terrible idea to leave you to your own devices."

"Haha! You make it sound like Miki's some evil genius or something."

"On the contrary, I believe you're far from it."

Miki grinned, opening her mouth to respond, when she suddenly paused, a thoughtful look coming over her. Iori frowned as she watched her out of the corner of her eye, and considered saying something sarcastic to snap her out of it. Not because she was worried or caught off guard or anything like that! Pssh. No. Of course not. She just thought that thoughtfulness looked weird on Miki's face.

"Deko-chan, this is kind of like we're flirting with each other!"

"This is exactly what I meant by 'don't say anything dumb'. And stop talking so loudly, baka! You're lucky Azusa has a one-track mind."

"Haha, you see?" Miki nodded, now looking fully set on whatever idea she had just come up with. "Deko-chan, please go out with Miki."

Iori stomped on her foot again.

/~/~/

"I cannot believe she actually did this to us," Hibiki growled, pacing back and forth in an obviously agitated manner.

Takane watched her, unblinking, looking a little bored. "So Miki-san had an encounter with Iori-san from Ryuugu Komachi out on the streets earlier today? And that is the reason why she is currently missing?"

"In a nutshell. She wants to prove that it was really Iori or whatever 'cause she thinks we wouldn't believe her."

Takane frowned. "That is preposterous. Do we have any reason not to believe her?"

"She sure seems to think we do," Hibiki let out a noise of frustration, running her hands through her wild hair frantically. "I mean, seriously! What does it even matter? Iori's way up there at the top and we're just part of the audience so it's not like Miki would even be able to talk to her again."

"Although if she snuck backstage there is a high possibility they could run into each other and therefore recreate conversation," her silver-haired companion pointed out.

Hibiki rolled her eyes, paused, and then abruptly spun around and pointed at Takane. "Genius. We're following her."

Takane seemed startled by the sudden finger in her face. "... We're what?"

* * *

**It is so ridiculously fun to write Miki and Iori. Also, more news! Three extra anime episodes are coming out alongside Shiny Festa! Ah~ I'm so excited. But it's not coming out all the way 'till October 25th...**

**Well, anyway, thanks for reading :3**


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